Struggling with a labor shortage? Seeking to maintain high-quality, expedient guest ordering? You can transform your restaurant or hospitality business by scaling to use custom AI-powered self-service kiosk apps.

Digital kiosks have become an integral part of the service experience at restaurants in recent years, and now, due to labor shortages and safety concerns, they are more necessary and popular than ever.

In addition, for many customers, kiosks are the primary channel in which they place orders at their favorite food outlets.

Self-service kiosks offer customers a convenient way to view and learn about a restaurant’s food before ordering. An effective kiosk display usually includes attractive graphic design, intuitive menus, stunning photographs, and visually-powerful videos.

You may have already implemented, or are planning to implement digital self-service kiosks for your restaurant. But simply installing a couple of kiosks and calling it a day isn’t wise. And, the reason for this is that today’s tech-savvy consumers want more than pretty kiosk displays.

Consumers expect speedy and reliable service that’s specifically tailored to their needs and wants. That’s why innovative artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and custom software are needed to take the kiosk experience to the next level.

Why does scaling your kiosks for ongoing enhancements make good business sense?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Makes All The Difference

Everyone seems to be talking about artificial intelligence (AI) nowadays, but what exactly is it?

In a nutshell, AI consists of algorithms that allow systems to perform tasks that humans would normally do. These tasks include decision-making, image analysis, and facial/speech recognition to name a few.

Whenever you search for something on Google or your favorite social media platform, there’s an AI algorithm running in the background doing the heavy lifting.

So, how does AI benefit restaurant kiosks then?

In a similar manner in which Google offers quick and accurate results to web searches, the custom software of an AI-powered self-service kiosk streamlines the ordering process.

Customers no longer have to navigate convoluted menus to find the items they want, which inevitably wastes time and frustrates them.

With kiosks, restaurants are also using AI applications such as chatbots, virtual assistants, and voice to handle orders and assist customers in choosing menu items based on their preferences.

This increases the efficiency of a restaurant’s ordering pipeline and ultimately improves profitability.

AI Is Changing The Restaurant Business

Without a doubt, the restaurant industry relies heavily on its human component. We can’t imagine entering a restaurant that functions without its management team, cashiers, kitchen staff, and waiters.

However, the recent effects of the pandemic have adversely affected the restaurant and hospitality industry workforce.

While automation will inevitably replace certain tasks, many operations are seeking digital software capable of powering smart kiosks to handle ordering and checkout for customers.

AI has transformed many industries, and restaurants are not immune to these changes either. And, with sustainability and long-term survival in mind, that’s why restauranteurs should take advantage of AI sooner rather than later to stay ahead of the curve.

In addition to leveraging smart kiosks, restauranteurs can implement AI for their digital marketing endeavors, which may include their websites, social media, and video channels. However, there’s a lot more you can do with AI that will help enhance your business.

For instance, chatbots and apps can handle customer inquiries and orders around the clock, making customer engagement incredibly easy. In fact, many consumers prefer talking to chatbots instead of human beings, which is a game changer for the industry.

Fundamentally, it is now imperative to use self-service kiosks possessing the full range of AI functionality, including recommendation engines, allowing your restaurant to easily cross-sell and upsell based on your diners’ eating preferences. This increases the size of orders and Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

Custom and Compliant Solutions

Every restaurant is different, and that’s why custom self-service kiosk solutions are so important for each brand’s specific business rules.

Furthermore, solutions need to be ADA and PCI compliant, which means that they cater to customers with disabilities while working securely with your restaurant’s existing cloud, hardware, and SDKs.

Restaurants should seek cross-platform applications that work across Android and iOS devices and integrate with their favorite payment processors such as Heartland or Stripe.

And, make sure your omnichannel solution works with all digital screen sizes allowing for better efficiency during checkouts, custom upsells, and bigger orders.

Also, make sure your existing or future kiosk hardware won’t pose problems by choosing a custom solution that works with most hardware providers, from Elo Touchscreens through to Lilitab Tablets.

Choose the digital displays and PCI compliant card readers that best suit the needs of your restaurant, or invest in a technology services partner to come up with the right solutions for you.

Final Thoughts

Your restaurant’s self-service kiosks are an indispensable part of your business.

Many customers will interact with your kiosks as soon as they step inside your establishment, instead of staff members.

A bad experience will either frustrate or chase them away, but a good experience will entice them to order more.

Form factor does matter, and bigger is usually bigger. Kiosk positioning in-store, screen size, and whether to use print receipts or customer queues are just a few questions you as a brand should ask yourself before diving into a kiosk project.

It’s no secret that the rise of AI presents many challenges and opportunities. Choose a technology partner that can utilize AI to augment digital kiosk apps that will provide your customers with an efficient and personalized experience.